In an interview with FoxSports Bill Reiter, Isiah Thomas spoke about how his game compared to those of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. His comments are surprising, to say the least.

“I have no problem saying this at all,” he says. “[Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are] all 6-(feet)-9 and Jordan was 6-6 and a half. If they were all 6-1, it wouldn’t even be a question. They wouldn’t even f—ing rate. If they were all my size, s—, they wouldn’t even be talked about.

“I beat the s— out of them when they were that big. If we were all the same size, f—.” He stops to laugh good-naturedly. “Make them 6-1 and let’s go on the court.”

In basketball, there’s an obvious advantage to being tall, but if it were the only (or even driving) quality necessary to be great, Gheorghe Mureşan would have been a Hall of Famer.

Little guys have an advantage in quickness and bigger guys are closer to the rim. Isiah used his quickness to get by bigger defenders, while Jordan, Magic and Bird used their size to dominate smaller players.

Had MJ, Magic or Bird been 6-1 or 6-2, they still would have been great players. They wouldn’t have been as big, but that wouldn’t affect their ability to shoot the ball or find the open man. Isiah complaining about their height no different than if they complained about Isiah’s quickness. If you’re in the NBA, you’re gifted one way or another.

Thomas says in the piece that he’s terrible at public relations, and this is another example. But the guy can evaluate talent. The Knicks drafted pretty well under his tenure — David Lee, Wilson Chandler, Trevor Ariza, Channing Frye — and he helped the Raptors settle on Marcus Camby, Damon Stoudemire and Tracy McGrady. I doubt he would accept such a role, but Thomas would make a great VP of player personnel.

The article is really about Isiah’s exile, and Reiter mentions Thomas’ abilities in the area of player evaluation as a possible way back into the league:

In 2009, ESPN used the Estimated Wins Added stat, developed by respected basketball mind John Hollinger, to judge 20 years worth of general managers. Isiah was ranked the second-best evaluator of talent…

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Isiah, who can’t seem to stay out of his own way, PR-wise. He has talents that could be useful to NBA teams, but there is so much baggage and ego that goes along with him that it just makes it easier for teams to go another direction. However, Knicks owner James Dolan does like him, so there’s always a chance that he could end up in New York again.

Isiah is out of his mind; he was an excellent player, however he was not on the same level as Michael Jordan and/or Larry Bird. He can think he was as great as they were; but, that’s only in his mind. Their individual and team excellence is and was beyond anything the NBA ever experienced, giving him “Press-Space” is giving his over-inflated ego a place to exist, where it sholdn’t.

You idiots don’t know shit about basketball! He’s right,they caught hell with 5-8 inches more height,and most of the time with more talent,and Isiah beat all of them(Magic/Kareem/Barkley/Olajuwon/Drexler/Malone) IN THEIR PRIMES,with 3 guards under 6-4,a Center who couldn’t jump or post up,and 2 Forwards(Salley and Rodman)who didn’t score! Take 8 inches off of Magic or Bird,or 5 inches off Jordan,and Isiah kills them! Oscar and Baylor never cried like a Bitch about tiny Guards checking him tightly! Just in case you forgot, the Pistons,Isiah in particular,kicked Chicago’s Ass from 1981-1990. They needed the “Hated Dennis Rodman” for those 4 Titles;without his 15-18 rebounds a game,and his great defense,the Bulls couldn’t have won! None of them was as great of a Ball-Handler as Isiah,they weren’t as quick,had no more heart,were no more clutch,and Magic was the ONLY one as unselfish! Jordan was very selfish toward his teammates,and COULDN’T HAVE brought the ball upcourt and ran the offense,to set his teammates up for all of those years-he wasn’t capable of it,and bitched (AND WOULDNT SHOOT!!!)when Doug Collins asked him to set his teammates up!

Isiah Thomas is one of the most overrated players ever. His last 3 all star appearances were gifts from 1991-1993, he was at best an average individual defender on a really good defensive team that won championships based off rebounding and D, and he had a shaky jump shot + shooting pct. The pistons never became a serious contender until Rodman came on in the late 80s as a defensive ace.

isiah being a conceited idiot, yet again.
he was helped by his speed, which was a result of his size. a 6-6 jordan made isiah look like he was moving in slow motion. can you imagine him at 6-1?
how about isiah trying to do what he did at 6-6 or 6-9. he’d be the non factor. this guy has to get it in his head that he will never be considered an elite level all time great. in fact, he’s an all time 5th or 6th teamer at best.